So with Christmas out of the way and it being impossible for us to relax (or eat) any more we decided we ought to see some more of the sights nearby. We set off on Boxing day on a bit of a wild goose chase. I decided to take us to the reserve nearby to do some bird watching. We drove through the stinking salt flats and stopped at a graveyard on the way. As it had recently been the night of the dead celebrations all of the grave stones were beautifully decorated with bright colours and candles and some had christmas lights and music playing. We carried on through the sulphuric smog towards the reserve and unfortunately it wasn’t until we got there that I realised that the reserve was a 2 hour ride away…in a boat!

We decided 4 hours on an open topped boat in the midday heat was maybe a little much and turned around to drive back through the stink. Our next destination on our adventure day out was the ancient city of Dzibilchaltun and its ruins. The sun was beating down on us as we walked the nature trail to the ‘Templo de las Siete Munecas’, the Temple of the Seven Dolls. Named so because of the seven deformed clay dolls found buried in the structure with a tube through which the spirits were meant to communicate with the priests. The temple is famous as the only Mayan temple to have windows and on the Equinox the sun shines straight through the tower doors.
We enjoyed strolling around the ancient city and the excavations and stopped by the Cenote to watch people swim among the lilly pads and fish in the clear blue fresh water. A cenote is a ‘fresh water sink hole’ and the ancient Mayans believed they were a way to the Gods and would throw offerings of jewels, gems and apparently even human sacrifices into the cenotes.

 We drove another 40 miles to a recommended fish restaurant along the coast and had a snack (Alex ordered squid but I think it was actually a hose pipe that he got) before heading home for the night. we spent the next day preparing to pack up the house as we were heading for pastures new for Janets last few days. We decided that as the journey to Cancun was soooo long and boring we would stay somewhere half way so we could do some more exploring.

We packed up (it took some doing) and set off to  Izamal for the day. Itzamal was visited by the Pope in 1993 and for the occasion the whole town was painted yellow! While we were there we also visited a lovely little museun showing local arts and crafts. Our favourite pieces were the Papier Mache figures made for the day of the dead.

Next stop was Chichen Itza, our new home for the next 2 nights. We got up bright and early on our first morning there and set out to see Chichen Itza. We met our guide at 8am and he was brilliant. He explained so much about the history of the Mayans and the Toltecs and the people coming together to create the wonderful sacred city. He explained that as most of the Mayan recorded history was destroyed during the Crusades that they still know very little FACT and can only assume from their discoveries the ceremonies and worshipping that went on there. He introduced us to a man painting his hand carved masks with colours from flowers and leaves and another man carving his masks. It was a real eye opener and I loved every minute of it. Our guide was brilliant and it was great to be able to ask all the questions about the Mexican culture, the tourist trade, the work ethic and beliefs today that we had wondered about since we had arrived. He told us he only had enough work at Chichen Itza for 4 weeks of the year  during the main tourist season and that the rest of the year tour buses bring in their own guides which means he is out of work. I would urge anyone going to any of these historic sites to use a local guide. The cost to you is small but the benefit both to you AND your guide is priceless.

That afternoon Janet treat us all to a hot stone massage and the next day on the way to the airport we stopped at the most beautiful cenotes for a swim. They are underground through a cramped tunnel and have tree roots and stalagmites hanging down above a pool of turquoise water. The bats fluttered above our heads and the catfish swam around us as we dipped our toes in the icy water. Alex was brave enough to go for a swim in one of the cenotes while I had a foot spa from the tiny fish on the edge and then, before we knew it we were back at the airport and sadly waving goodbye to Janet! Her time with us had flown by and we couldn’t believe it was time for her to go already! She was setting off on the next leg of her adventure as were we. Janet to Vancouver Island to stay with our second family The Garnetts and us carrying on our road South!

Some of the pictures below are repeated but there were too many to include in the text so the extras are below too. The Frida Kahlo statues, the 3 of us in front of the pyramid and the caves…just too good to leave them out!

See what happens next on our traveling wedding adventure!